Dhanusha: On Wednesday, Dhanusha District Court remanded Kantipur Media Group Chairman Kailash Sirohiya for three days into custody.
A single bench of Judge Chudaman Khadka passed the order after police presented Mr Sirohiya before the court, seeking a remand to investigate the citizenship certificate-related complaints against him.
Police had sought a 10-day remand, while the district attorney’s office asked the court to remand Sirohiya for five days into custody.
A police team, including Senior Superintendent of Police Sanuram Bhattarai and Superintendent of Police Rabindra Regmi of the Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office, arrested Sirohiya on Tuesday from his office at Kantipur Publications’ headquarters in Thapathali, Kathmandu. He was then taken to Dhanusha, where a complaint was filed against him.
Sirohiya was detained based on a complaint filed by Indrajit Mahato of Sarlahi district at the Dhanusha district police office on April 28. Mahato, a cadre of the Rastriya Swatantra Party led by Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane, accused Sirohiya of possessing multiple citizenships and demanded that the offence be investigated according to the Citizenship Act 2006.
The media fraternity and political leaders have condemned the arrest, calling the move an assault on freedom of press and an abuse of state power.
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